The move paid off for Marvin Dantzler. A year after moving from a successful stint at John Marshall to Tulsa Washington, Dantzler was named the Hornets' head football coach Monday when his promotion was approved by Tulsa Public Schools. Dantzler, 32, replaces Darrell Hall. Hall recently took the head coaching job at Midwest City. Dantzler was a candidate to move with Hall to become an assistant with the Bombers. Dantzler coached John Marshall to back-to-back track state championships in 2010 and 2011 before leaving to serve as an assistant under Hall before last season.

TALLAHASSEE -- Rick Dantzler has bowed out of the contest for Florida agriculture commissioner with a parting shot at "the shamefully high sums of soft money" his Democratic Party colleagues expect candidates to raise. Dantzler's departure leaves no clear challenger to incumbent Commissioner Charles Bronson, a Republican and former state senator from Satellite Beach appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush when the last commissioner quit. As one of few remaining posts on a shrinking state Cabinet, the agriculture commissioner oversees a vast industry often overshadowed by tourism.

POLK COUNTY Davenport and Haines City may finally have ceased hostilities in a months-long feud over annexation issues, which culminated late last year in legal challenges filed against each other's growth ordinances. A 10 1/2-hour mediation session Wednesday mandated by state conflict-resolution rules led to the agreement, said former state legislator Rick Dantzler of Winter Haven, the mediator. City officials said they could not comment on the settlement and deferred to Dantzler. Dantzler said Thursday that he could not get into specifics but said the agreement eked out about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday "will resolve all of the issues."

PRACTICE REPORT: It's not certain whether Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler will be ready Saturday. If his bruised calf isn't healed, the Tigers will go with Willie Simmons. . . . Florida State's tight ends have caught 13 passes this season. Senior Ryan Sprague has seven receptions for 137 yards over the past two games and nine for 171 yards overall. INJURIES: Quarterback Chris Weinke participated in his first Tuesday practice since Sept. 26. His sprained left foot is the fittest it has been since it was injured Sept.

TALLAHASSEE - Education took center stage Thursday as Florida lieutenant governor candidates, Republican Frank Brogan and Democrat Rick Dantzler, squared off Thursday in their only televised debate of the campaign.School vouchers, public school spending, teacher salaries and even the role of education in lowering Florida's crime rate were dissected by the running mates, who strayed little from the themes aired by their bosses - the governor's candidates, Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Buddy MacKay.

TALLAHASSEE - Democrats Buddy MacKay and Rick Dantzler joined political forces on Tuesday, pledging to heal the racial wounds in their party and then beat back Republican Jeb Bush's bid for governor.Dantzler, a former state senator from Winter Haven, dropped his own bid for the state's highest post by agreeing to run for lieutenant governor.The pair, wearing look-alike Cotton Club shirts bought at JCPenney, made the announcement in a Tallahassee park in 100-degree-plus heat.Gov. Lawton Chiles helped broker the final agreement.

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Everything it needed, UCF's defense received. Then the Golden Knights got Woodrow Dantzler into third down. As a group, UCF defenders won't mount a campaign to say Clemson's quarterback is college football's best player, but they know well enough he's the primary reason the Knights were unable to spin a close game into an upset in the host's 21-13 victory. UCF outgained Clemson 328 yards to 292, but Dantzler accounted for 200 yards of the Tigers' total offense, including 154 passing.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rick Dantzler on Thursday accused his opponents - and his own party - of sneaking around the state's strict campaign contribution limits and breaking ``the spirit'' of a law aimed at breaking the power of big-money donors.The problem: As a state senator, Dantzler voted for the rules his opponents are playing by.Changes in the state's campaign-finance law that took effect Jan. 1 allow political parties to pay some candidate campaign expenses, including staff salaries and polling expenses.

Elroy Dantzler rushed for 189 yards on 22 carries, scoring twice in the process, as Lake Brantley defeated Mainland, 20-8, in a Class AAAAA District 4 matchup Thursday night at Municipal Stadium.The Patriots (3-2) had 363 yards total offense and their defense, led by junior Tim Warren, held the Bucs (0-5) to just six first downs and 181 total yards.''Our offensive line did a great job tonight,'' Lake Brantley Coach Fred Almon said. ''They may be small and slow, but they dug in and opened up some seams.

BARTOW -- The list of applicants interviewed last week to be the next Polk County manager grew to 12 with the late addition of former state legislator and lieutenant-governor candidate Rick Dantzler. Shortly after his interview Wednesday, Dantzler said he was as surprised about his candidacy as anyone. But the Winter Haven Democrat said the job would allow him to stay close to his family and keep his hands in public policy. The toughest transition for Dantzler, who most recently has led the campaign to save at least a portion of Cypress Gardens, would be going from being his own boss to having five bosses -- the five county commissioners, he said.

WINTER HAVEN -- The state's willingness to consider preserving at least a portion of Cypress Gardens hasn't stopped entrepreneurs and others from pitching their own ideas on how to save the 67-year-old landmark. Ideas run the gamut from selling shares of stock to those with an interest in preservation, to leaving the attraction intact and leasing it to a private entity after a state buyout, to adding Gone With the Wind paraphernalia to boost interest. But former Winter Haven lawmaker Rick Dantzler, who is heading a citizens committee that on Thursday recommended the state buy 75 acres of the park, is worried that putting other ideas on the table could hurt the chances of state preservation.

WINTER HAVEN -- Former Winter Haven legislator Rick Dantzler, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1998, will lead the local charge to try to find a way to save the recently shuttered Cypress Gardens. Polk County commissioners, much of the county's legislative delegation and Winter Haven officials met Thursday to work on a strategy but quickly discovered that more information is needed about the 67-year-old landmark. They asked a willing Dantzler to spearhead the local effort.

Merely the mention of "casting a fly with chartreuse feathers and pink tinsel" is enough to transport a reader to a faraway, yet incredibly near, place. That's where lawmaker-turned-writer Rick Dantzler takes willing followers in a refreshing new storybook, Under the Panther Moon. With his own innocent memoirs and a friend's romantic illustrations of the wildlife that lures them both to the woods and water, Dantzler has penned the sort of primer that anyone who attempts to understand both the political and natural realms of Florida should read.

TALLAHASSEE -- Iowa State's Seneca Wallace doesn't look like a prototypical college quarterback. He stands just 5 feet 10 and needed to gain weight this summer to reach 193 pounds. Forget appearances. When Wallace steps onto the field, he plays like a giant. Wallace routinely draws comparisons to former Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, and he presents Florida State's defense with its first test of the 2002 season. The third-ranked Seminoles play the Cyclones on Saturday night in the Eddie Robinson Classic at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. "Oh, my goodness," gasped FSU middle linebacker Jerel Hudson when asked about Wallace.

TALLAHASSEE -- Rick Dantzler has bowed out of the contest for Florida agriculture commissioner with a parting shot at "the shamefully high sums of soft money" his Democratic Party colleagues expect candidates to raise. Dantzler's departure leaves no clear challenger to incumbent Commissioner Charles Bronson, a Republican and former state senator from Satellite Beach appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush when the last commissioner quit. As one of few remaining posts on a shrinking state Cabinet, the agriculture commissioner oversees a vast industry often overshadowed by tourism.

LAKELAND - Former state senator Rick Dantzler says he will not run for the 12th Congressional District seat in 2000.``I am just not on fire to do it,'' Dantzler, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 1998, said Thursday. ``My brain was telling me to run, but my heart said no and this time I listened to my heart.''The seat is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Charles T. Canady.Dantzler said he is still considering a run for the U.S. Senate.``I have not ruled that out, yet. I am still looking at it,'' he said.

Sen. Rick Dantzler will resign from the state Senate today to focus full time on his bid to win the Democratic nomination for governor, sources said Monday.Dantzler, D-Winter Haven, will resign so that he can spend more time campaigning, particularly in vote-rich Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties, The Orlando Sentinel was told.In addition to providing more time to run against Lt. Gov. Buddy MacKay and state Rep. J. Keith Arnold, resigning enables Dantzler to solicit contributions during the two-month legislative session - something sitting lawmakers are forbidden to do.Dantzler has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. today.

CLEMSON, S.C. -- It's hard to give up 27 points and 463 yards and play good on defense, but Florida State did in its 41-27 victory over Clemson on Saturday. The yards and most of the points came after the game was no longer in doubt, and the defense did the one thing that was required. It didn't let Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler win the game. "It was like sucking air out of a balloon," defensive end Kevin Emanuel said. "We wanted to contain him and gradually eat up the ground that he had to work in."